Looking at your suggestions, I hope that nobody will actually include Hotmail or MSN in their lists. Like almost all Microsoft offerings, they're totally dire and should have no place on the web!
So what do I like (and use)? Yes, Google's a fairly good search engine but I prefer Altavista:
http://uk.altavista.com/
I also use their translation service, Babelfish quite a lot:
http://babelfish.altavista.com/
The biggest site in the world is also one of the best (but still much under-used). Yes, it's the BBC:
http://www.bbc.co.uk/
(Everything from recipes to consumer law is here).
I'm a nosey so-and-so. I just love looking through other people's picture albums. The best source for all types of images has to be Webshots:
http://www.webshots.com/homepage.html
Like most people, I hate paying for software when I can get it for free. Tucows is my favourite site :
http://www.tucows.com/ but I also like Download.com:
http://www.download.com/
It's also worth mentioning Serif's great site:
http://www.freeserifsoftware.com/
Sticking with the free stuff, I like Acid Fonts for free fonts:
http://www.acidfonts.com/ but a much more user friendly site (designed for kids but grear for adults, too) is Fonts for Kids:
http://www.momscorner4kids.com/fonts/index.htm
Lastly, I travel by rail quite a lot and get my UK train times from